A funereal pall must have come over Jim Dolan's annual Fourth of July bash Wednesday night, just about the time the grand fireworks finale was set to go off, when word came from Phoenix that Steve Nash wasn't coming to the Garden.

But they must have set off a few celebratory rounds in Los Angeles upon hearing that Nash, who still has a lot of game left in his 38-year-old body, accepted a sign-and-trade to play with Kobe Bryant.

The Lakers could offer the two-time MVP two things that the Knicks couldn't: A chance to play a short flight from his kids, who live in Phoenix, along with the chance to make a run at a title.